Some Updates

Another treatment looms tomorrow morning. Cross your fingers and toes Jeannie’s hair is still hanging in there after the first go round. And today the scalp cooling cold caps arrive in the nick of time for the next dose of chemo. They’re called Penguin caps for a reason they’re quite cold and kind of penguin looking. As might have been explained before they’re worn before during and after treatment to slow the chemo when it gets to the scalp where it would normally damage the hair follicles. And while her hair is hanging in there she's getting a little self conscious of it as your only supposed to wash what you have once a week. This means it spend a lot of time in a braid or a net. Today she went off to work with a hair do that included a scarf. She says some of the girls at work have to be wondering what's going on but at least her boss knows and the rest will sooner or later.

A second development yesterday in that Jeannie got herself accepted in a study program using proton beam therapy instead of conventional radiation. Unfortunately it’s in Chicago. But there are barely over a dozen of these types of centers operating in the entire country and they don’t all treat all types of cancer. One benefit of this type of treatment is that it’s more targeted so less of the body is blasted with radiation. A second is that she may get by with fewer treatments. Either way it would appear that in the first part of next year she could be spending the better part of her week each week in suburban Chicago.

The treatment is more expensive than conventional radiation causing a hot debate over is it worth the extra cost if the outcome is the same. But these people look at cold hard outcomes and not side effects. The longer we’re around this the more we see that side effects are the dirty little secret everyone tries to hide in a closet like a crazy old uncle.

So for now the good news is her energy remains great, she’s doing her full work schedule and isn’t slacking around the house either. In a future post I’ll get into how she’s packed the freezers to make sure there’s something for dinner when no one is in the mood to cook.